Ancient and Modern Chinese History

The Chinese history is interesting because of the internal struggles that have ocurred throughout its history. Chinese history starts with Emperor Qin in 221 B.C. who founded the first Chinese Empire. This led to a very stable imperial rule of more than 20 centuries. In the 19th century, Emperor Qing and his dynasty took over. This is where the first changes ocurred with the Opium War against the British. The British wanted to sell the Chinese Opium but the government refused. When the British won the war, the Chinese government had to allow the British to export their goods to China. This was the first contact that China made with the west. In 1850 to 1864 a Rebellion called the Taipei Rebellion was fought in China. Chinese revolutions have strongly contrasted those of Japan. In Japan revolutions have been peaceful like the Meiji restoration instead of filled with battle like in China.

In the 20th century in China Sun Yat Sun founded the Republic of China in 1911. Sun Yat Sun died in 1925. Chiang Kai Chek was the ruler who took his place and he was a very instrumental leader in the history of China. He used his strong personality and power to take leadership of Guamindong in 1927. He also led an anti-communist purge which led to the�death of hundreds of thousands of people.�

Mao Zedong and Zhou En Lai took over afterwards and in 1921 the Comunist Party was formed. In 1934 the Long March began and three years later Japan invaded China�and proved how military advanced the Japaneses were. In�the war thousands of Chinese people were slaughtered at Nanjing. In 1949 the Chinese finally�fought back and the Chinese communists expelled the Japanese and Guamindong from China.��

In 1949 the People's Republic of China was formed. Several movements proceeded afterwards such as the "Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom", the 1958 "Great Leap Forward", and the 1966-1969 "Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution." Reform continued with Deng Xiaoping and his reforms of the "Four Modernizations." The sectors in agriculture, industry, sceince and military all went through overhaul and changes in modernization.�In 1989 the students protested for political change, not just economic change. This led to the horrible events at Tiananmen Square which were broadcasted live over the world to see. After Deng Xiaoping's reign ended, Jiang Zemin took over, followed by Zhu Rongi and finally Hu Jintao.